Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Meanwhile, a fierce battle raged within the compound.

Sounds exploded intermittently—the thud of fists and feet, the clash of swords and blades, the crash of collapsing buildings, agonized screams, cries for help, and mad ravings...

The chaotic symphony of noises mingled and intertwined, like a great cauldron at a rolling boil, everything within tumbling, seething, and about to erupt.

Outside the compound, ordinary folk didn’t dare approach to watch. Seeing it from afar, they would immediately turn and take a detour.

The surrounding streets and alleys were deserted. Even Chen Cheng couldn’t linger for long.

But leaving just like that felt like a waste, and he was a bit reluctant.

After a moment’s thought, he turned and headed for the maze of tangled alleys behind the mansion, far from the main street.

While familiarizing himself with the area yesterday, he had specifically planned several escape routes for emergencies.

In theory, the bandits would have done the same.

If any fish slipped through the net during the fierce battle and made a desperate break for it, they would surely use these routes.

If he could ambush and kill them, he could easily reap some benefits.

The four bandits he had killed earlier, including Liu the Crooked, had each been carrying at least five Golden Blade Coins.

If he could catch two or three more fat fish like them today, Chen Cheng would be satisfied.

Of course, Chen Cheng’s considerations went a level deeper.

The Captain’s Mansion troops weren’t fools; they would certainly block the escape routes in advance.

For this very reason, the first thing Chen Cheng did was circle around to check each of the routes he had planned.

At the mouth of the first alley, several armored soldiers stood with spears at the ready, their gazes sharp as lightning.

At the second fork, three figures lay in wait on a wall, their crossbows drawn.

In the third narrow lane, a pile of broken wooden crates had been hastily stacked into a barricade, with the edge of some Leather Armor faintly visible behind it.

The fourth...

More than half of these escape routes were already guarded by troops. Even if any fish slipped through the net, it wouldn’t be his turn to catch them.

Fortunately, the Captain’s Mansion’s operation was a surprise raid, and in their haste, it was impossible for them to have covered every nook and cranny.

Chen Cheng still had three routes left to choose from.

Putting himself in the bandits’ shoes, he considered his options and finally chose a dark alley that led to the slums.

The alley was extremely narrow, flanked by crooked earthen walls with piles of junk at their base.

About a dozen paces in was a half-collapsed woodshed, and behind it, a dry drainage ditch.

If the path was blocked, one could follow the ditch and crawl deep into the slums.

「Some time later.」

From a corner in that network of alleys, a sudden THUD was heard, immediately followed by the sound of staggering footsteps and suppressed gasps.

A middle-aged man, drenched in blood, scrambled out in a sorry state.

He was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick back, yet he was so hunched over he couldn’t stand up straight.

A gash on his left shoulder was cut so deep the bone was visible. Blood flowed down his arm, leaving a broken trail behind him.

His face was caked with so much blood and filth that his features were obscured, leaving only a pair of eyes that glinted fiercely from between the stains. He kept glancing back as he ran.

Close behind him was a young man in his twenties with a fat head, big ears, and a bloated figure. He too was covered in blood. The right side of his waist was soaked through, and he clutched it tightly with both hands, fresh blood seeping through his fingers with every step.

”Dad, I can’t... I can’t run anymore...”

Racked by excruciating pain, the young man gasped for air, his mouth wide open. His mouthful of rotten, blackish-brown teeth chattered, knocking together with a faint clicking sound.

”Then die!”

The middle-aged man snarled over his shoulder. The sound, raw and savage, seemed torn from the depths of his throat, carrying the cold-blooded ferocity of a wild beast.

”I spent over a decade painstakingly building a team of elite confidants! My four sworn brothers, the ones I drank blood oaths with! They all fucking died back there to carve out this path of blood... No matter what, I have to escape so I can avenge them!”

”Those Spear Holders who led the charge today, and that little bastard who betrayed us... I’ll be back for them! I’ll slaughter their entire families! I’ll make them wish they were dead!!!”

As he spoke, he continued to stumble into an even narrower alley, shouldering aside junk that blocked his path. With a trembling hand, he fumbled for some Healing Medicine in his clothes and stuffed it into his mouth without looking.

Though the rotten-toothed youth complained, he didn’t dare slow his pace in the slightest, keeping close behind. The fat on his face trembled, whether from pain or fear, it was hard to say.

”And that son of a bitch Liu the Crooked! If he and his eight men had shown up on time, we would’ve finished the job last night! We wouldn’t be in this mess...”

He viciously kicked away a broken pottery jar blocking the path. It shattered against the wall.

”When I get back, the first thing I’m gonna do is flay that Liu the Crooked alive, pull out his tendons, and eat him raw!”

He cursed and staggered on, leaving a trail of blood.

Just as the safest escape route came into view, the sound of frantic, pounding footsteps suddenly echoed from behind them.

”Song Diao!!!”

Hearing his name shrieked hysterically from behind, the rotten-toothed youth jolted. He whipped his head around, his eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

A slender, grim-faced young man in white clothes was racing toward them, blade in hand.

The man was covered in wounds, drenched in his own blood.

Half of a broken arrow, its shaft snapped off, was jutting from his abdomen. The arrowhead was buried deep in his flesh, and the fragment swayed with every running step.

Blood sprayed out, leaving a broken ribbon of red in his wake.

He paid it no mind.

It was as if he felt no pain, had no fear of bleeding to death.

In his blood-red eyes, there was only one thing...

A hatred so palpable it was almost tangible.

Song Diao remembered clearly. When the Captain’s Mansion experts had stormed the mansion, this young man had been among them. He wore no armor and carried no blade, yet he fought more fiercely and recklessly than anyone.

In the end, lost in a berserk rage, he had tackled a bandit in close quarters, pinned him to the ground, and used his teeth to tear out the man’s throat.

The sight of him—mouth full of blood, eyes wild with madness—had deeply shaken not just Song Diao, but everyone present. It was an image they would likely never forget for the rest of their lives.

”Buddy, who the fuck are you?”

Song Diao didn’t stop, stumbling deeper into the narrow alley as he looked back and demanded in astonishment.

”You’re not even one of the Captain’s grunts. Is there any reason to be this suicidal? You got nothing better to do?”

”Who am I? You’re... asking me who I am?”

The words seemed to sting the young man, and the Blood Qi around him suddenly erupted.

In that instant, blood sprayed from all the ghastly wounds on his body at once.

As he surged forward at his absolute maximum speed, the droplets of blood atomized in the air, exploding into a scarlet mist.